Korea posts double-digit jump in exports for January

Containers for exports and imports are stacked at a pier in the southeastern port city of Busan on Jan. 1, 2024. [YONHAP]

Korea’s exports jumped for the fourth consecutive months in January on strong recovery of chip exports.

The country’s outbound shipments totaled $54.69 billion last month, up 18 percent on-year, showed data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Thursday. It was the first time the country’s monthly exports expanded in double digit since 21.4 percent growth in May 2022.

Chip export soared 56.2 percent over the period, the largest expansion in more than 6 years, rising for the third straight months. The growth was helped by the global fever for generative AI, which requires the use of semiconductors for its servers and a stabilized supply of chips following the production cuts by major chipmakers in recent years, including Samsung Electronics.

Automobile exports continued to grow for 19 consecutive months, advancing 24.8 percent over the same period despite concerns over the EV market.

Other industries that saw exports jump included machinery products, home appliances and display products, which rose 14.5 percent, 14.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Exports of computers, steel and petroleum products swung back to positive territory, growing 37.2 percent, 2.0 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively.

Korea’s exports to China, the country’s top trading partner, increased 16.1 percent in January to $10.7 billion. It was the first on-year growth since 1.3 percent increase in May 2022.

Outbound shipments to the United States also grew for six straight months to reach $10.2 billion, up 26.9 percent from a year earlier, and the highest for January.

Exports to the EU, Japan and India grew 5.2 percent, 10.6 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively.

Korea’s exports started to rebound since October after 13 months of an on-year decline.

Imports fell 7.8 percent in January on-year to $54.39 billion.

Inbound shipments for energy dwindled 16.3 percent, led by reduced imports of gas and coal.

Korea reported $300 million in trade surplus in January, continuing to stay in the positive territory since last June.

“External conditions surrounding Korea’s exports, including extended high global interest rates, U.S.-China competition, supply chain restructuring and a geopolitical crisis, remain difficult,” said Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun in a statement. But the four puzzles for export recovery — positive exports, a trade surplus, positive chip exports and exports to China — have come to fit as exports to China swung into the positive territory, he added.

The government will put in the utmost effort to achieve the challenging goal of reporting record exports this year on the gradual recovery of outbound shipments Korea is experiencing, he said.

“The government will come up with ‘gradual manuals’ to minimize the negative impacts the Red Sea incident imposes on Korea’s export firms.”

The government aims for Korea’s exports to reach $700 billion in 2024.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]